Curiosity has a bad press. It is confused with children’s distraction, luxury for intellectuals, even a waste of time. A good leader, we think, must be sure of himself, rapid in his decisions, focused on action. But if the greatest risk for leaders was not to lack courage, or even vision … but curiosity?
When uncertainty becomes the norm and technologies redefine the rules of the game overnight, curiosity is no longer a luxury. It is a survival strategy. And not just any: radical, deep, insatiable curiosity. The one that shakes up certainties, which questions everything – even success.
Curiosity: the invisible engine of innovation
Innovation always starts with a question.
- “What if you could order a car from one click?” »» – Uber.
- “What if a phone could become a pocket computer?” »» – Apple.
- “What if energy could be produced without carbon?” »» – Tesla.
Each large company, each revolutionary product was born from a spirit which refused to be satisfied with reality as it was. Curiosity is the first act of creative rebellion.
The more the leaders climb the ladder, the more they risk losing this reflex. Taken in the whirlwind of KPIs, committees and expectations of shareholders, they spend less time asking questions and more time giving answers.
This is where the danger slips: a leader without curiosity becomes a guardian of the status quo.
Curiosity is not only “to be open”
Too often, curiosity is seen as a vague quality: to love to learn, to be interested in the world. But radical curiosity goes further.
It consists of challenging evidence, even those that have made your success. It allows you to explore out of your comfort zone, in disciplines or sectors that you do not master and to listen without filter, even the ideas that seem naive or disturbing.
It is an active, almost militant curiosity. Not just “inform yourself”, but actively seek to see what others do not see.
Biases that kill curiosity
If curiosity is so easily lost among leaders, it is because it comes up against well -known obstacles:
1/ The illusion of knowing: the more experience we accumulate, the more you believe that you have “understood” its sector, its market, its customers. However, the world changes faster than our knowledge.
2/ Tyranny of emergency: the leaders spend their days extinguishing fires. Curiosity requires long time, mental availability.
3/ The fear of appearing ignorant: because they are expected to have all the answers, many leaders no longer dare to ask the simplest questions – for fear of eroding their credibility.
4/ Confirmation of certainties: Our brains love to find evidence that confirm what we already think. Radical curiosity, it forces us to seek the counterexamples.
Curious companies survive better
Research in organizational psychology shows that companies where curiosity is encouraged innovate faster, adapt better and know less turnover.
In 2018, a study published in the * Harvard Business Review * already revealed that teams who ask themselves more questions take better decisions, avoid more errors and are more creative.
Curiosity is therefore a competitive advantage. However, many leaders continue to consider it as a Nice-to-Have, not as a strategic competence.
Curious leaders inspire others
A manager who asks questions changes the dynamics of the whole business.
Imagine two scenarios:
- In the first, the CEO enters a meeting and said, “Here is the plan. Run. »»
- In the second, he said, “Here are the data. What did we not see? What could surprise us? »»
In the first case, the teams are content to execute. In the second, they feel authorized to think, to question, to invent. The curiosity of the leader becomes contagious.
Cultivate a radical curiosity: a voluntary act
Good news: curiosity muscle. Here are some concrete practices for leaders who want to cultivate it:
1/ Block time to explore: book a non -negotiable niche every week to read, listen to a podcast, meet someone outside your sector.
2/ Ask quality questions: not just “What are we doing?” “But” Why are we doing this like that? “,” What are the alternatives? “,” What would a competitor do for us? »»
3/ Go see the field: talk directly to customers, to employees on the front line. Curiosity feeds on direct contact with reality.
4/ Look for the contradiction: invite people who do not think like you. Give a place to minority ideas.
5/ Accept not to know: sometimes say “I don’t know, but I would like to understand. This gives the whole business right to learn continuously.
When curiosity saves a business
History is full of examples of companies that collapsed for lack of curiosity: Kodak, Nokia, Blockbuster … They knew what had walked yesterday, but did not want to question their model in time.
Conversely, Netflix survived two major disruptions (the transition from DVD to streaming, then from streaming to content production) because its leaders have constantly wondered: “What if our model was already obsolete?” »»
Curiosity, in this case, was not a hobby. It was a survival reflex.
Radical curiosity as a leadership posture
Being curious does not mean constantly doubting everything to the point of being paralyzed. This means adopting a learner posture, even when you’re at the top.
A curious leader says, “Show me what I don’t see. »»
This attitude opens up space for innovation, diversity of thought and resilience.
